Automatic street-indicator.



'C. E. PELLETIER.- AUTOMATIC smear INDICATOR. APPLICAT-ION FILED SEPT-27 |9l6-- 1 336,975 Y Patenmd Aug. 14, 1917.

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JOHKDDOE QDENTIST C) WITNESSES -INI/NTOR yaw 4% C. E. PELLETIER.

AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-2751916.

1,236,975 Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

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WITNESSES INVENTUR A TTOBWEVS c. a. PELLETIER. AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-27 l9l6- 1 ,236,975, ,Patenteuug.14,1917; 4sHE'ETs-suuar a.

WITNESSES mmvm/e I BY I a ,4 TTORNEYS C. E. PELLETIER.

AUTOMATIC STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-27. I9I5.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

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,2 g ar 'o- 0 I 44 o 36 WITNESSES CEFe/JMJW ATTORNEYS UNITED srarns rgrmvr OFFICE.

CHARLES EMILE PELLETIER, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO RENE LABADIE AND ONE-THIRD TO HIPPOLYTE TOTY, BOTH OF NEW ORLEANS,

LOUISIANA.

AUTOMATIC STREET-INDICATOR.

Application filed September 27, 191 6.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. PELLETIER, a citizen of France, and a resident of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Street-Indicator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to indicating devices employed in connection with railways. An object of the invention is to provide an automatic device which will indicate the successive stations or streets and also display advertisin .matter which changes with the change in street. A further object of the invention is to provide an indicator which can be reset in any part of its course, if necessary, and which will reset automatically at the end of its course when starting the course over.

i Vith the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fully described, illustrated and claimed. In the accompanying drawings, forming part of the application, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a. car truck carrying the electrical control for the indicator, and the indicator in elevation with the front removed to show the details of the mechanism for operating the indicator;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the indicating mechanism, the housing being in section on line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the track on which the car travels, showing the location of the shoes;

Fig. 4. is a section on line 44;, Fig. 1, showing one of the shoes which controls the operation of the indicator;

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the switch operable by the movement of the shoe;

Fig. 6 is a cross section through the drum carrying the spring which resets the indicator;

Fig. 7 shows a car equipped with an in- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

Serial No. 122,363.

dicator operated mechanically in lieu of electriaally, as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive; an

Fig. 8 is a section on line 88, Fig. 7, showing in plan the bell-crank levers through the mediiun of which the indicator is operated.

Referring to the drawings, 9 and 10 are two rollers mounted to revolve in a housing 11. A chart 12 is adapted to be wound on one and unwound from the other of said rollers. The chart is guided by a roller 13 in front of a glass-screened opening 14 in the housing. The shaft 15 of the roller 13 is not constrained to revolve therewith. It carries a gear 16 which is free to turn on said shaft. A ratchet 17 is keyed to the shaft adjacent the gear to rotate therewith. The gear carries a spring-actuated pawl 18 which engages the ratchet to rotate the same when the gear 16 is rotated in a predetermined direction.

A rack 19 engages the gear, said rack forming part of a solenoid core 20, the core belng normally maintained out of the solenoid by a spring 21. The solenoid is in the circuit of a source 22 normally maintained open by a spring-actuated switch 23 in the circuit. A spring-actuated member 24:, which normally breaks the circuit, is connected by a first-class lever 25 to a plunger or slide 26. A roller 27 is provided on the end of the slide to ride over, the shoe or cam 28 located at each crossing of the street or at the stations. Theroller 27 is preferably mounted between brushes 29 secured to the under structure of the case. The slide 26 operates between the brushes, to obviate the engagement of the roller with an obstruction.

The engagement of the roller with the cam or shoe closes the switch 23 energizing the electro-magnet or solenoid thus pulling the core 20 in which revolves the shaft 15 and therewith a sprocket 30 carried by the shaft. An endless chain 31 connects the sprocket 30 with the sprockets 32 and 33 constrained to rotate with the rollers 9 and 10 respectively. The chart 12 in the spaces betwee the names of the streets carries removable advertising cards 34. They are visible, with the name of the street, through the glass-screened opening 14 of the housing 11 and change with the change in the name of the streets. Lamps are provided beyond the curtain to illuminate the reading matter.

To reset the device at the. end of the course, a clock spring is provided which is set in a casing 36, the winding end of the spring being secured to a shaft 37 which is connected to a clutch member 38 by a train of gears 39, the cooperating clutch member' 40 being constrained to revolve with the sprocket 32. The shaft 37 is also connected by a train of gears 41 to a shaft 42 which is provided with a crank whereby the spring may be wound. A pawl 43 and a ratchet 43 are provided for the shaft 37 to prevent the unwinding of the spring. A ratchet 44 is mounted on the shaft 42 to rotate therewith. An arm 45 is mounted to oscillate on the shaft 42 and it carries a pawl 46 engaging the ratchet 44. The arm 45 projects through an opening in an extension 47 of the solenoid core 20. The displacement of the core oscillates the arm 45 and causes the operation of the ratchet 44, thereby causing the winding of the spring 35. The spring 21 which restores the core to its normal position also restores the arm 45 and pawl 46 to normal position, thus with each successive operation of the solenoid the tension of the spring is increased; and when the end of the course is reached the spring is wound.

To rewind the chart it is necessary to raise the pawls 43 and 46 from their corresponding ratchets and to couple the clutch member 38 with the corresponding clutch member 40. The said pawls and the clutch member 38 are operated simultaneously by a solenoid 48 through the medium of flexible members 49 and 50. The flexible member 50 leads to the pawls and the member 49 leads to a fork 51 which engages the clutch member 40, guiding pulleys being provided for the flexible members.

The pawl 46 is thrown out of the ratchet 44- by a bell-crank lever 54 connected to the flexible member 50. The pawl 43 is connected directly to the flexible member 50 which raises the pawl from the ratchet when the core of the solenoid 48 is drawn in. The solenoid 48 is in an independent circuit of the source 22 which is normally maintained open by a switch 23 similar to the switch 23 operable in a manner exactly similar to what has been described in regard to switch 23, by exactly similar means, and for which a shoe 23 is provided at the end of the course over which the vehicle travels.

The solenoid 48 is of the dashpot type, so that the spring for restoring the core to normal position acts slowly, being resisted by a dashpot 56 of the solenoid. The time taken to restore the core to its normal position is sul'licient to allow the spring to unwind and bring the chart on the rollers to the normal position. The spring will restore the pawl 18 to its normal position, and gravity will restore the pawls 46 and 43 to their normal positions when the core of the solenoid is returned to its normal position. The clutch member 38 will be disengaged from the clutch member 40 by the spring 57 which normally tends to draw the fork, and therewith the clutch member 38 away from the clutch member 40.

The movement of the train of gears 39 by the unwinding of the spring is regulated by a governor 58 which is driven from the shaft on which the clutch member 38 is mounted. The governor 58 carries a brake arrangement 59 which is operable by the flexible member 49 connected to the fork 51. It will be seen that the brake is released the moment the solenoid is operated, and en gaged the moment the fork is restored to its normal position by the spring 57.

To permit the resetting of the device at any part of the course, a slide (30 is provided in the connection between the flexible members 49 and 50 and the core of the solenoid 48. This slide is operable by a springactuated member 61 connected to a flexible member 62 wound on a drum 63 within the housing 11, the drum being operable by a milled head 64 provided on the outside of the housing. In turning the head 64 to wind the flexible member 62 on the drum, the slide is pulled and therewith the flexible members 49 and 50.

In the modified structure shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the plungers 26 operate flrstclass levers 64, which are connected to corresponding bell-crank levers 65 by flexible members 66 guided over pulleys ('37. Each. lever is in turn connected by a flexible mem ber 68 to a corresponding plunger 69 corre sponding to the cores of the two solenoids described previously. The rest of the mechanism is the same, and the parts thereof are connected to the said plungers in a manner similar to what has been described previously. I clalm:

1. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, a chart mounted to move in the housing, said housing having an opening for rendering a section of said chart visible, means for moving said chart step by step, a spring, means for winding the spring operable by said means for moving the chart step by step. motion-transmis sion means associated with the spring, means for coupling the motion-transmission means to the chart, means for severing the connection between the chart and the means for moving it step by step, means for releasing the spring so that it may unwind, and means for operating simultaneously said means for severing the connection, said coupling means, and said means for releasing the spring.

2. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, a chart mounted to move therein, means for moving the chart through a predetermined distance of its length, a spring adapted to be wound by the means for moving the chart, motion-trans mission means from the spring to the chart for moving the chart in a direction opposite to that of the movement caused by the means for moving the chart, means for disconnecting the chart from the means for moving it and connecting it to the motiontransmission means, and vice versa, and a regulator controlling the movement of the motiontransmission means.

3. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, a chart mounted to move therein, a rack and pinion arrangement, including means whereby the chart can be moved in a predetermined direction only, means for operating the rack, a spring, means for winding the spring adapted to be operated by the movement of the rack, motion-transmission means from the spring to the chart, means for coupling the motiontransmission means to the chart, means for uncoupling the. pinion and rack arrangement from the chart, and means for disconnecting the spring-winding means from the spring.

at. A11 indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, rollers revolubly mounted in said housing, a chart carried by said rollers, a pinion and rack mechanism for rotating one of said rollers, a chain for transmitting the movement from said rollers to the other rollers, a pawl and ratchet arrangement interposed between the pinion and roller whereby said roller can be only rotated by said pinion and rack in a predetermined'direction, means for actuating the rack, a spring, means for winding the spring operable by the movement of the rack, motion-transmission means connected to the spring, and means for coupling the motiontransmission means to another roller, including means for separating the pawl and ratchet mechanism between the pinion and the roller and the winding mechanism from the spring, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, rollers revolubly mounted inthe housing, a chart carried by said rollers, a solenoid in the housing, having a core provided with a rack, a pinion meshing with the rack, a pawl carried by the pinion. a ratchet for said pawl, a sprocket wheel constrained to rotate with the ratchet, a chain for transmitting the motion fromthe sprocket to the rollers, a spring, means for winding the spring, a pawl and ratchet mechanism connecting the means for winding the spring to the core of the solenoid, motion-transmission means associated with the spring, means for coupling the motion-transmission means to one of the rollers, and means for operating said cou pling means, including means for removing the pawls from the ratchets.

6.'An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, rollers revolubly mounted in said housing, a chart carried by said rollers, sprockets associated with the rollers, an endless chain engaging said sprockets, a ratchet constrained to rotate with one of said sprockets, a pinion free to turn relatively to the sprocket, a pawl carried by the pinion to engage the ratchets whereby motion may be transmitted from the pinion to the ratchet in a predetermined direction, a rack engaging the pinion, means for actuating the rack, a spring, means for winding the spring, a pawl and ratchet arrangement connecting the means for wind ing the spring to the rack, motion-transmission means. from the spring, means for coupling another of said sprockets to said motion-transmission means, means for operating the coupling means, means for disconnecting the pawls from the corresponding ratchets, and means for simultaneously operating the coupling means and said means for disconnecting the pawls from the ratchets.

7 An indicator of the class described comprising a housing, rollers revolubly mounted in said housing, a chart carried by said rollers, sprockets associated with the rollers, an endless chain engaging the sprockets, a ratchet constrained to rotate with one of said sprockets, a pinion free to turn relative to the said sprocket, a pawl carried by the pinion to engage the ratchet, a rack engaging the pinion, a solenoid for actuating the rack, a spring, means for winding the spring, a pawl and ratchet arrangement connecting the means for winding the spring to the rack, motion-transmission means from the spring, means for coupling another of said sprockets to said motion-transmission means, a second solenoid, means for disconnecting the pawls from their respective ratchets, a flexible connection from said means to the solenoid core, and a flexible connection from the coupling means to the solenoid core.

8. An indicator of the class described, comprising a housing, rollers revolubly mounted in said housing, a chart carried by said rollers, sprockets associated with the rollers, an endless chain engaging said sprockets, means'for moving said chart step by step cooperating with one of said sprockets, a spring, means for winding the spring operable by said means for moving the chart step by step, motion transmission means from the spring, means for coupling the m0- tion-transmission means to another sprocket, means for disconnecting the means for moving the chart step by step from the sprocket cooperating therewith, means for disconnecting the spring from the Winding means, and

means for operating simultaneously said c0u phng means and disconnecting means.

CHARLES EMILE PELLETIER.

Vitnesses J osn HELEN, Josli RonLns.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

